Revolutionary: Year by year, person by person, Tim Gunn, chief creative officer for Liz Claiborne International, is transforming the way Americans think about style.

Perhaps it’s no surprise that as an instructor and dean at the prestigious Parsons School of Design from 1983 to 2007, one of Tim Gunn’s few visits to Birmingham before last month’s Lucky You Runway Contest at The Summit was to the Alabama School of Fine Arts 25 years ago.

But although his legions of fans can see hints of his teaching ability as he dispenses tough love on shows like “Project Runway” (Lifetime Network) and “The Revolution” (ABC), many of his devotees aren’t aware of Gunn’s longtime leadership in design education. Yet Gunn’s observations during our recent interview, about both the young designers competing on “Project Runway” and the regular folks who are embarking on a lifestyle transformation on “The Revolution,” suggest that his days as a teacher are far from over, and that like all good educators, he has learned as much as he has taught.

Birmingham magazine: Have you been to Birmingham before?
Tim Gunn: Yes, I have been there. I visited your arts school, the Alabama School of Fine Arts, but it’s been a long time.

BHAM: What were your impressions of the city when you were here?
TG: Well, it’s certainly a major city in the U.S. and it has an important presence in the South. I remember the graciousness and the warm hospitality; people had such a sincere warmth. I remember your beautiful residential areas. I still have a profound impression even 25 years later.

BHAM: How would you characterize the southern sense of style?
TG: Well, southerners dress up. You care about the way you look — not just apparel, but grooming, too. I talk all the time about the “slothification” of America, and the South just does it better. You see a real sense of not caring in other areas of the country. You know, I grew up in D.C., which is something of a southern city — it is below the Mason-Dixon Line after all — and I saw some of that there. There is a pride in appearance. A lot of regional cultures I think see these as superficial things, but they’re not. I talk often about the semiotics of clothes: You are sending messages with your appearance whether you realize it or not. I think people need to take responsibility for that.

BHAM: Now that we’re entering the spring and summer seasons, color is a big part of the fashion story. Do you think southerners embrace color more than others?
TG: Well I will tell you that even if you’re hesitant about wearing color, you can certainly be on-trend by using color in your accessories: a bag, a cuff, a scarf, shoes.

BHAM: You’ve obviously been such an influence on the “Project Runway” designers and the people who have been on “The Revolution.” Have you learned anything from them that has influenced your work at Liz Claiborne?
TG: They have not just influenced my work, they have influenced my life. With the “Project Runway” designers, that’s an expanded role of my years teaching at Parsons. I have learned to discipline myself on the show and tell them to only change the things they can change. If we were in a classroom setting I could tell them to change a fabric from red to green, or change from an A-line to a pencil skirt. But we don’t have the time to do that. So it’s about changing only the things they can change. That has really affected my entire life — navigating problem solving, everything. Don’t change the things you can’t.
On “The Revolution,” I’ve learned there is more to change than just recalibrating people’s sizes and shapes. I used to say that there’s a solution for your size, no matter what that might be, but now I have embraced a new thinking that this is about people’s health. Your weight affects your heart, [your propensity for developing] diabetes, your carriage, your sleep. We’re doing more than finding a flattering garment for someone.

BHAM: Here in Birmingham I am proud to say that we have really embraced the local food movement, and we have some phenomenal chefs, farmers and food advocates who have put us on the map as a true food city. What about the “local” trend in fashion? Sites like esty.com and others are celebrating hand made, handcrafted garments and home décor pieces. Do you see a local or handcrafted trend in fashion design, or even sewing? Is this a lost art?
TG: You know, to me, this is a question of education. I implore parents to get active with their schools. So many creative areas are being eliminated from our school systems as a result of funding cuts, and I think that is fundamentally wrong. Being creative helps the learning process; it builds self-confidence and self-expression in young people. It teaches students that the answers are not always in the back of the book — they exist only in you. We need to nurture and cultivate that flame in every individual.

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